| Upcoming Tastings and Events |
Saturday, October 23:
Union Square Wines Autumn Cocktail ClassicNYC 2-5pm Saturday, October 23: GCP Liquors Tasting Horseheads, NY 4-7pm Friday, November 19-21 or Friday, December 3-5: Deck The Halls Seneca Lake Wine Trail Fridays 1-5; Saturday/Sunday 11-5pm
Thursday, December 9:
Lighthouse Liquors
Tasting
Elmira, NY
4-7pm
Please come out to see us!
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New Products
 We now offer several varieties of Brooklyn Brine products including Whiskey Sour Pickles, Spicy Moroccan Beans, and Fennel Beets. All are $9/jar.
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Dear Friend of FLD,
What a great start to the fall so far. We were involved in several exciting events this past month, including a Fashion Week event in NYC and the opportunity to distill at historic Mt. Vernon. In between, we've enjoyed watching the leaves change, grapes being harvested, and seeing thousands of visitors stop by as they enjoy fall in the Finger Lakes. Please read on for more details about our Mt. Vernon experience, a couple of new product releases (Wheat Whiskey and Peach Brandy), and our collaboration with Brooklyn Brine on some wonderful Whiskey Sour Pickles. Join on as a Facebook Fan so we can keep you posted on all new events. We'll be lining up several tastings as we move into the holiday season. Hope you can make it out to the distillery this month!
Sincerely,
Brian McKenzie
President, Finger Lakes Distilling
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FLD Distills at Mt. Vernon
As we mentioned in last month's newsletter, Finger Lakes Distilling was recently invited to distill peach brandy at George Washington's recreated distillery at Mt. Vernon. Brian and Thomas spent the first week of October running the direct-fired stills at this historic site. No, they didn't wear the wigs and 3-cornered hats the entire time!
The experience was one we'll never forget. We had a great time creating a brandy that George Washington himself would be proud of. The gala at the Mt. Vernon Estate, following our week of hard work, was equally exciting.
We are happy to announce the release of our very own Peach Brandy. I guess you could say that we were inspired by our visit to Mt. Vernon. This brandy is similar to the style made on General Washington's still. It is made from local peaches and bottled at 90 proof. FLD Peach Brandy will hit the shelves in our tasting room starting tomorrow. It retails for $32/bottle.
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Whiskey Sour Pickles
We couldn't believe it when we were contacted by the Brooklyn Brine Co. to use our rye whiskey in their Sour Pickle recipe. But boy are we sure glad that they did. They make some "damn fine pickles".
The Whiskey Sour Pickles are made by adding a small amount of McKenzie Rye to the brine. The spice of the rye really shines through and matches well with the other local high quality ingredients. It's like a pickleback in a jar!
These pickles were just named a Time Out New York Critic's Pick and were also recently featured in a Brooklyn pickle eating contest.
Currently, you can purchase the Whiskey Sour Pickles at Finger Lakes Distilling, on the Brooklyn Brine blog, and a few retailers in the metro-NY area. You will soon see Whiskey Sour Pickles featuring McKenzie Rye in William Sonoma stores near you.
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What's up with our Whiskey?
We continue to ramp up our whiskey production at FLD. Our goal is to maintain regular stocks of rye and bourbon for sale both at our tasting room and through our retail partners.
We are currently out of stock of McKenzie Rye and Bourbon at the distillery, though many retailers are stocking the Rye. We are awaiting the next batches of Bourbon (mid-to-late November) and Rye (early 2011).
In the meantime, we have a very special release available. It is a Wheat Whiskey (60% wheat, 20% corn, 20% malt) aged for 2 1/2 years in new charred oak. McKenzie Wheat is an exceptionally soft whiskey with notes of toffee, cherry-vanilla and toasted oak. It retails for $45/bottle. Come pick up a bottle this weekend - we expect to run out soon!
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Welcome Neighbor!
We're really excited to have Damiani Wine Cellars open for business just next door to FLD. On October 2, they officially opened their new tasting room in the Mediterranean-style building just north of us.
Come check out their new facility and try some of the best wines in the Finger Lakes. For your convenience, we've installed a walking path between the winery and distillery.
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In case you missed it....
Lots of good press this month, mostly related to the Mt. Vernon gig. The Associated Press picked up the piece, so it ran in several major newspapers across the country, as well as on 50 NBC affiliates. Check Brian out on the PBS Nightly Business Report (the segment starts at 21:19). Here is another piece that just ran on Slashfood.com and an article in the NY Examiner.
Chuck Cowdery also mentioned FLD in an interesting article on the craft distilling industry that appeared in Whiskey Magazine.
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Creative Cocktails
Just Peachy
2 oz. FLD Peach Brandy
3/4 oz. McKenzie Bourbon
1 tsp. Honey
dash of salt
Shake the above ingredients over ice, pour into a martini glass and garnish with a peach slice.
FLD Cherry-Wheat Manhattan
2 oz. McKenzie Wheat Whiskey
1 oz. FLD Cherry Liqueur 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth (we used Punt-es-Mes)
dash of Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters Shake the above ingredients over ice, pour straight up or over large ice cube.
 McKenzie Pickleback
1 shot of McKenzie Rye whiskey
1 shot of Brooklyn Brine Co. Whiskey Sour Pickle juice
Of course, you can use any whiskey and pickle juice- but we prefer our own! Apparently, pickle brine is also a helpful hangover antidote. Read more about the pickleback here.
Please send us your ideas for cocktails using our products. With your permission, we may feature your cocktail in a future newsletter. If selected, we'll send you an FLD hat or T-shirt.
Want to know more about our spirits? Just visit Our Products for details and tasting notes on our gin, vodka, fruit liqueurs and other products.
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